


in summer

by bloomingbruise



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, Sehun centric, Slow Burn, Summer Love, Uhhhhhhhh, anyway i'll add more tags later, maybe i'll make it jong bros....., omg idek how to tag this, this is my first fic without the kim bros
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-07 00:55:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15207287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloomingbruise/pseuds/bloomingbruise
Summary: the red on his cheeks wasn't just from the summer heat.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i started writing this fic last summer but... life happened and i put it on the back burner. it was the first ever fic that i started and now i'm going to finish it (i hadn't even gotten halfway through so this should be fun). it's based HEAVILY on a book i read when i was younger but i honestly can't remember the name, it feels like a fever dream lol
> 
> also, i know that i have a few unfinished fics out right now. i plan on giving them the attention they deserve too :) honestly, the sekai tag on a03 is a bit dead (incredible content in it, kudos to all you writers) but there's just not a lot. so i want to fill it up as much as possible

his texts always began the same way.

 

_ hey sehun!! _

 

it was always the extra exclamation point that exhausted him. junmyeon would find pretty ways to put it: ardent, enthusiastic, eager. sehun could only find one synonym. luhan.

 

_ i know your classes are coming to an end (and i hope you’re studying hard). everything here is going well for us as we put the finishing touches on the place. it’s all finally coming together… kinda like one of those remodeling shows lol. and of course, i’ve been busy with work too. i know i mentioned it at the holidays and i’m hoping you’ve thought it over, but i’d really love for you to come out here and stay with us once you’re done with school. tao and kris would love to see you too. it’ll be fun to have this summer with you, it’ll be special. just like old times. come out when you can. _

 

_ love xoxo _

_ luhan _

 

just like old times, sehun laughed to himself.

reading it alone exhausted sehun. he could just hear his friend’s voice in every word. oozing an overly relaxing but eager tone. and while he loved him dearly he was… ardent, enthusiastic, and eager. luhan.

junmyeon  _ claimed  _ he was not surprised when they left (though sehun knew that he was perhaps the most hurt by it all). they were just eager to get out there, yixing sensed it too. maybe even felt the itch, though he would never say that. they were just excited to see whatever they could and live in whatever fantasy they could grasp onto. so when they packed their bags and declared they were moving away to a seaside town, it was no shock to anyone.

excluding sehun, of course. 

especially in the case of luhan. the two had been inseparable for as long as he could remember. luhan guided sehun through everything. school, family, boys. everything one went through, the other felt, despite being absolute opposites. though they were, perfectly so. what luhan lacked in stability and words, sehun had. the older, however, supplied a sense of adventure.

but him going on that adventure without sehun cut deep.

 

the wound was so deep that all texts, phone calls, and invitations were ignored.

 

until now. he couldn’t deny it, his summer thus far had been bland. junmyeon nagged him to prepare for his upcoming autumn courses, yixing and minseok tried their hardest to drag him out to clubs while his parents tried to not so subtly make suggestions as to what he should do with his life. sehun however didn’t see any of those options as good ones. and while some evenings were fun, most of the nights ended with him meeting dawn alone. sleepless nights always seemed to find him, or maybe he looked for them

 

the decision came swiftly. nobody seemed to mind too much. junmyeon, while he had his own reservations about it all, simply advised him to stay out of trouble (with minseok and yixing standing behind his back as they urged him to let loose). and when he finally texted luhan back with a brief, “i’ll see you tonight,” his friend could barely contain himself. giving him an unwanted call to tell him how excited he was for the reunion.

 

during the drive, sehun practiced his faux excitement


	2. Chapter 2

**** the house screamed luhan, with small hints of kris and tao. in need of a few minor repairs but overall idyllic, expensive looking, and cool. a small stereo outside, hanging lights, and wilting flowers lined with litter (which sehun assumed was left from a previous night’s party) along the fence. the biggest selling point though was the soft sound of the ocean that surrounded the home, it couldn’t be too far. “only thing they’re missing is a quirky welcome mat,” he laughed under his breath, picking up his bag and swinging it over his shoulder as he made his way up to the house

 

the porch had a slight creak to it as the dark haired boy stepped up, peeking into the backyard only to see beach grass hiding a blue band that wrapped around the horizon. taking a deep breath in, sehun told himself that no matter what luhan said or did, he would smile and roll with it. that he would be just as pleasant to the three as he would be to anyone else… though that didn’t say entirely too much. they were old friends and despite their time apart, they knew each other deeply. he rang the doorbell, stepping back as he looked over the yard with an array of lawn chairs and bottled scattered across it. clearly the three had found their niche, becoming popular came easy to them. “coming!” shuffling footsteps followed the familiar voice. looking down, he read the words “shut the front door!” spread across the mat. cute, sehun thought, they really did have everything.

 

the door swung open and sehun was greeted by the biggest smile he had seen since… well, since he last saw luhan. and unsurprisingly, a warm embrace came too. “i missed you,” the younger exhaled, feeling his friend squeeze him tighter. he could feel luhan’s smile resting on his shoulder, their hug lasting for what felt like forever. once he finally pulled away, the older beamed bright. 

 

“i missed you too, thank you. thank you so much for coming.” sehun’s eyes looked him over, wondering if the gleam in his eyes, tears that began to well, were real. “you have no idea how much we’ve missed you. i got so lonely. i mean, of course i had tao and kris but you know how they can be and i missed  _ you _ .” pausing for a moment, luhan shook his head. “duh, i almost forgot! tao, kris! he’s h—” his words were cut off as the two taller boys shuffled from behind them, met with kris’s deep voice. “we heard, we wanted to give you a moment,” he laughed before pulling sehun in for a hug.

 

“you guys look like you know how to have fun,” sehun chuckled lightly, his gut still churning from discomfort as he motioned to the mess in the yard. 

 

“oh… right,” his friend laughed slowly, “well, we haven’t exactly finished cleaning or preparing for you so we can’t quite welcome you in just yet.” curling his fingers around sehun’s bag, luhan pulled it away from him and smiled. “how about this: you and tao run to the pier and grab us some food while kris and i finish cleaning and setting everything up for you. i’m sure we’ll have it all done by the time you guys get back. sound alright?

 

tao just shrugged and sehun, of course, nodded; going along with whatever luhan suggsted despite uncertainty filing him. though he knew he’d be more than safe in tao’s hands. kris and luhan slipped inside as the other two headed down the street, following the small, sandy sidewalk that  led them towards the pier. “oh! and sehun?” luhan called out, head peeking from behind the door, “i really did miss you and i’m happy you came out to join us.” a soft smile settled onto his lips at his friend’s words.

 

maybe, just maybe, things could be normal again.


	3. Chapter 3

sehun couldn’t lie, the town was made for those three. it was painted with bright colors and vibrant faces. and while there was a relaxed feeling in the air, it seemed fast enough for them. he could easily see them fitting in there with any of the crowds. laughter boomed off of every wall and there wasn’t a shop or stop that lacked charm.

 

as they wandered down the street, tao cleared his throat. “so how have you been hunnie?”

 

sehun smiled at the attempted small talk. while luhan was his best friend, tao trailed not far behind on the list. they share many traits, one of which being the ability to say many words with just a few. “good,” sehun said with a soft nod. “sincerely. lonely, but alright. you?” 

 

tao smiled. looking over sehun briefly to read him. “same.” they were simple.

 

scanning over the restaurants, tao led sehun to a sushi place he swore he’d love. everyone in town did, hence the line that stretched outside the door. stepping behind everyone, sehun looked around as tao’s eyes fell to his phone. he couldn’t keep his gaze off a group of guys surrounding a table.

 

“the thing is,” one of them,who was lanky and tall with bright red hair falling over his forehead, said, “the name has to have punch. energy, you know? it need to be captivating.”

 

“it’s more important to be clever,” another, who was smaller with round cheeks, prodded, “funny even. it’s gotta be memorable. which is why we should go with my name. pawsitively purrrrrfect pets. perfect is in the name.”

 

“that’s just cheesy, baekhyun,” another told him, he too was smaller with soft curls split across his face.

 

“it covers all the boundaries, jongdae, c’mon man.”

 

“baekhyun please,” the tall one shook his head, “chanyeol’s pets paradise sounds much better.”

 

“your  name doesn’t need to be in it chanyeol, there’s  _ four  _ owners,” jongdae quipped.

 

“fine, what do you want to name it?” chanyeol snapped

 

“i don’t have any pets, i don’t particularly care. the pet shop would please me,” he smiled.

 

“you may not have any pets, but you sure do look like a poodle with that hair,” the red-headed boy grinned, watching as his friend smoothed over his curls nervously, “okay, so nobody likes baekhyun’s name, jongdae’s, or mine. jongin what do you think?”

 

sehun’s gaze fell to the last boy in the group, one who hadn’t said a word or even engaged in the conversation at all. lazily, he turned his focus to his friends. “what?” jongin said, his voice sounded almost bored.

 

“what do you want to name the pet shop jongin?” baekhyun rolled his eyes.

 

sehun had been watching this exchange almost the entire time, eyes falling on each boy as they spoke. though the fourth and most quiet seemed to be the most… alluring. and while he assumed the focus fell on each other, his gaze met another. eyes locking on sehun to make it abundantly clear that he noticed him eavesdropping.

 

“how about…” he paused only to add drama, biting his lip “it’d be nice if people didn’t listen to other people’s conversations.”

 

sehun’s cheeks glowed red, snapping his eyes to tao and turning his back to them completely. behind him, he could hear their voices. “well that’s not clever at all,” baekhyun replied, the others nodding in agreement. though jongdae looked up, catching onto jongin’s words and cackling.

 

pulling out his phone, he tried to make small talk again with tao, who had been absolutely unaware of the entire exchange. and didn’t feed into it. each time he peeked over his shoulder, the boy’s eyes were still on him. sehun thought it was safe to assume that it was a glare. “you could always apologize,” he stated, just loud enough to reach sehun’s ears. his friends ignored it and sehun tried to too. he didn’t say another, if only because he had no idea how to respond to such an overture. instead he took a step closer to his friend, hoping it would make it clear that he wasn’t here alone. he wasn’t a complete loser.

 

the place was called soo-man’s sushi and it was clearly the hottest spot in town as people packed themselves inside. some waiting to be seated, while the other sat in front of the grill watching as three cooks raced around orders. sehun got what tao suggested and extras for luhan and kris before sitting down. glancing down the boardwalk, he could see the guys still gathered around the table: jongin, the one who confronted him, leaned back with a soft smile on his lips. laughing softly as the tall friend, chanyeol, danced around and caused a scene. 

 

the food didn’t take too long to prepare and as tao handed sehun the bag, he realized just how hungry he was. ready to dig in before he even left the place. by now, the pier was crowded with families and friends, couples on dates, people running along the sand with the gorgeous sunset behind him. sehun couldn’t keep his eyes off the oranges and pinks that swirled in the sky as he and tao began to make their way back. he was so focused that he almost didn’t notice that the guys still sat at their table. he also almost dind’t notice that someone had called out his friends name.

 

almost.

 

“hey tao!” he called out as the two turned around. it was baekhyun, short and smiling. tao nodded back coolly with a friendly smirk. “there’s gonna be a bonfire tonight on the beach, if you want, we can save you and the guys a few cold ones.” he grinned.

 

tao nodded again, this time towards sehun. “we’ll probably be down there. we’ve got our friend in town so save him something good too.” they waved good and sehun felt his palms grow sweaty, stumbling along beside him.

 

back at the house, the four sat around the table. stealing from each other’s plates and attempting to adjust. time away had done something bizarre to their friendship and while sehun wanted to push it aside, the tenseness was still in the air. clearing his throat, the youngest looked up at his friends and swallowed his sushi. he wanted to do something about it. “so uh,” he began awkwardly, words only greeted by their grins, “someone on the pier told tao about a bonfire tonight by the beach. i don’t want to be rude but… i don’t know, i think it could be f—”

 

his words were cut short as luhan chimed in. “sounds fun,” he beamed optimistically, “who invited you?” he turned to tao. with a shrug, the blonde dipped his roll in some soy sauce. “baekhyun,” he told them, “he was down there with jongdae, chanyeol, and uh, jongin.” kris and luhan lifted their heads curiously at the mention of jongin’s name while sehun wondered what all the fuss was about. “i know,” tao agreed to their silent skepticism, “we should go.”


	4. Chapter 4

sehun trailed along behind his friends like a young duckling behind its mother. like he had when things were different. the path led from their house almost directly down to the beach. through the grass and over some dune until it opened up to a wide swath of sand. a large group of people, some on beach chairs while others on driftwood, sat around a firepit. the fire burned bright, high too. and a large car was parked off to the side, keg in the back along with other drinks and snacks surrounding it. sehun could recognize one of the guys from the pier sitting beside it, baekhyun, he thought. and when he noticed the small group, he watched them over enthusiastically.  “luhan! kris! tao! uh… other guy! come on over and grab yourself a cold one and a weenie. perhaps a marshmallow?” as his friends jogged over to the car, sehun found himself looking around at everything; his gaze falling on the sea, the fire, and all the strangers.

 

as he took the scenery in, sehun could barely walk without getting distracted. “watch out!” someone from behind yelled, but it was too late. he and someone else (who happened to be walking backwards, thus putting them at fault in sehun’s mind) collided.

 

“i am so sorry,” sehun said, rubbing his hand on his head, feeling a slight ache, “i wasn’t evne paying attention.” 

 

the other scoffed, checking out his knee that had been scraped a bit. “yeah you definitely weren’t,” his tone oozed entitlement, as if sehun was truly wrong. it was when their eyes finally met that he understood, realizing who he had meshed with. “but it’s nice to hear an apology from you.” the other boy smirked, the corners of his mouth stretching to his ears. and while his smile grew, sehun could feel redness covering his own cheeks. another apology spilled from his lips, this time in a form of a mumble before he quickly pushed himself up off the ground and jogged towards his friends.

 

the other, jongin, just sat on the ground. watching as sehun swiftly moved away. a bewildered grin sat on his face. “huh,” he said to himself.

 

their odd moment this afternoon was bad, sure. but this? sehun hardly needed another sigh that it was time for him to turn back and go home. as he went to do just that, a voice called out to him. “you just couldn’t resist us, huh?”

 

sehun turned and there was one of the guys from the boardwalk, holding out a cup to him. his friends standing not too far behind and laughed along. the boy was a bit taller than sehun, though every time he saw him, there was a goofy yet sincere smile plastered onto his face. “i’m chanyeol,” he continued, nodding towards the cup for sehun to take it and flipping his bright red hair off his forehead. with a small step forward, he took it and pressed the cup against his lips.

 

“i’m sehun,” he said softly, “and i can definitely resist you.”

 

well of course you would think that, i haven’t even begun my offensive yet,” he replied as sehun took a sip of his drink, almost choking on it, “i haven’t let you see my unbelievable charm. ask kris or tao or luhan, they’ll tell you. right guys? laughter errupted from the three as they led sehu towards the fire pit and settled into the sand beside him. chanyeol stayed close and eventually, his friends fell in line with them as well.

 

_ huh _ , sehun thought,  _ this wasn’t so hard after all _ .

 

the rest of the night was spent with him getting acclimated to the group. they all asked him his name about a thousand times and being the youngest out of everyone, the jokes were always thrown his way.

 

“now that we have a new baby of the group, we can stop teasing jongin,” jongdae cackled, though his words weren’t received as well. silenced stemmed from his statement, everyone listen to the crackling of the fire before someone spoke up.

 

“you guys don’t even tease me anymore,” jongin said softly, everyone’s eyes avoiding jongin’s. everyone except sehun, who locked in on his gaze immediately, not understanding the tip toeing. he didn’t ask questions though and instead, baekhyun changed the subject swiftly. acting like a fool as always.

 

once a few drinks entered sehun’s system, he wasn’t sure what he was doing. he wasn’t used to this, drinking so much. not even his nights out with yixing and minseok could prepare him for this. the night was still young. so instead of hassling his friends, he snuck away and crept back home. almost unnoticed. 

 

of course, a pair of eyes watched him leave.


	5. Chapter 5

luhan had prepared his room for him perfectly. bed made, clothes folded in drawers, bottle of water set on the nightstand, and the fan was put on the setting he knew sehun liked. plopping down, he attempted to sober up. chugging as much water as he could and closing his eyes, he began to feel the wooziness wear off. just laying there, sehun could just let himself exist. numbness began to fill him once again. he didn’t feel tired, nor drunk enough to pass out. instead, he laid there long enough to hear the sound of his friends footsteps dragging down the hall. kris falling into bed and quickly knocking out with loud snores booming from the room next to him. tao taking a quick shower and singing softly but just loud enough for him to hear. he closed his eyes, hearing his own door creak open and catching luhan as he popped his head in, making sure sehun made it home safely.

 

by the time they were all soundly asleep, sehun could feel himself growing restless, pulling his hoodie over his head, the boy tip-toed out of his room, down the hall, and as quietly as he could out the creaking front door.

 

for a moment, he contemplated just sitting on the porch, simply allowing the cool ocean breeze to slap him in the face. but instead he made his way down the driveway, past the mailbox, and even further. back home, he had known all the late night spots. what closed at 3am and what was an all night place. what place had good food and where had shit coffee. he knew it all. but that was home. now his legs were taking him down to the town. slowly, of course. he wanted to take in all the scenery. get to know the place where he’d be staying; the restaurants, the store names, streets, condos, everything. a beat passed and one moment he was in the neighborhood, the next, he had found the business district.

 

just ahead of him, the boardwalk was deserted. nobody in sight, given the hour, and just a brisk breeze occupied his ears. that, the ocean, and the sound of his feet. he had walked all the way down to soo-man’s sushi and the pet shop before he finally saw another person; if it was really another person or just his buzzed haze, he wasn’t sure. settling down at the table he saw the group of boys at earlier, sehun rested his head in his hands.

 

“thank luhan, call junmyeon, try not to hate herself too much,” he mumbled to himself a brief to-do list, “try to get along with luhan, talk to minseok and yixing, ignore your parents text. and try not to hate yourself too much… and don’t offend any more strangers.” his list became more and more trivial, always finishing off in the same way he as he continued to say it out loud. sehun was so distracted, creating his list, that he completely forgot about the smell speck of a person in the distance.

 

looking up and seeing them was almost startling. but then he recognized him. the tanned boy from this spot earlier, from the collision on the beach. he really couldn’t escape him.

 

this time though, it was sehun who was taking him by surprise, which was made more obvious by the way he jerked. his entire body rippling and coming to a clumsy stop when he suddenly spotted him sitting at the table. just by his glance, it was clear he recognized sehun too. although, he wasn’t very friendly, then again, sehun hadn’t said anything either. instead, jongin came over and sat with him. silently.

 

it lasted a bit, the silence. there was no way to gauge it. at first, they just look at each other, almost in a standoff. then their eyes fell everywhere but the other. jongin looked to the store fronts, sehun eyed the sea. they did this until the silence became unbearable to sehun.

 

“oh i—” he stammered, face becoming a bit red, though still felt the need to fill the silence, “it’s been a long night.”

 

he looked at sehun again and his face was serious, almost stoic. almost haunt, although he wasn’t sure why. it wasn’t hard, though, nor taunting like before. jongin’s eyes moved to the sky. “aren’t they all?”

 

he was right, sehun wanted to say. he wanted to agree, nod, do something. but instead he just looked at the other boy, mouth open. almost in awe. he hadn’t taken the time earlier to look him over but now that he had, sehun was practically hynotized. the streetlights only increased the angelic glow of his skin. his jaw curved perfectly into his chocolate brown hairline. everything care together so perfectly at each seam. even his sleepy eyes were bright. sehun could feel his lips reluctantly tugging upward into a slight smile just at the sight.

 

“i-i’m sehun!” he blurted out as the other boy’s eyes fell onto him.

 

with a soft, but playful scoff, the other replied, “jongin.”

 

the silence returned, though this time it was far more comfortable. they both took turns looking over each other, pretending not to catch the other’s wandering eyes and cocky smirks would grace their lips every so often. with long glances, sehun noticed that perhaps jongin had been nodding off every so often.

 

“are you always up late?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.

 

“lately yeah,” jongin replied, something sullen riding his tone. and as sehun opened his mouth to speak, the other was up and on his face. his pace fast though not awkward. there was so goodbye, no nothing.

 

“weird,” sehun exhaled. but what else would he expect?


End file.
